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Great service at a competitive price - as usual from DialAFlight.
Always 100% in friendliness and efficiency.
Excellent in every way - as ever.
Although long delay due to Italian Air Traffic Control strike Jet2 looked after us very well. Chris Briggs from DialAFlight kept in touch throughout.
I was concerned that I would have to cancel my trip following my flight being cancelled, but DialAFlight quickly found replacement flights for the same dates saving me the stress and hassle of dealing with the airline. Very happy I booked with DialAFlight.
Brilliantly organised and on hand to support whenever needed - a special thanks to Stan Castle who always does a great job!
Vinnie was excellent. Given that Easyjet cancelled our flight out Vinnie sourced and delivered alternative routing very quickly and as a result we only lost one day of our holiday. Very impressed with the service and client care.
You are all fantastic
Excellent service. Lee sorted out a last minute problem that was caused by us within minutes and was professional throughout. Would highly recommend this company for all your travel needs.
Dave is the best
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Luke, good as always
Just a quick thanks to Stuart for organising a fantastic trip to Venice. The hotel was superb and in a fantastic location. We will definitely use DialAFlight again and I've already been recommending you to family and friends.
I will not book a flight any other way from now. It was a really good experience.
The personal service is excellent and why I love DialAFlight
Wayne was absolutely amazing in understanding exactly what our requirements were. He delivered a first class service.
Happy to hear from you before we travelled and kept us updated in case of any delays.
As per usual - excellent
We had an amazing time - all went to plan.
Saved the day by booking us Club Class on the ferry Pozzallo to Valletta, 21.00 hrs arrival. First foot passengers off and only two taxis waiting. Much relief at getting speedily onwards to hotel.
As ever, a fabulous trip with fantastic hotels. Flights and transfers were seamless … and with cancellations due to weather we didn’t have to worry as DAF were already on it and contacted us with amended arrangements. Perfect - thank you.
Your responsiveness to my flight cancellations was excellent.
We usually travel independently but during these rather challenging times it was great to be able to create our own package of flights and hotel while having someone to support us. Changes to the flight schedule and problems printing boarding passes from an airline site that wasn’t working were all handled swiftly and resolved by Ashley. Plus it’s fabulous to get your calls answered instantly - a real bonus.
Thanks again Michelle - fab service as ever
Very pleased with the booking and the service. All worked out very well indeed
Great suggestion for the hotel and all ran very smoothly.
Greg gave great recommendations, sorted out amendments quickly and was always available to help when necessary. A perfect honeymoon
Have dealt with Craig for years and found him to be very helpful. Nothing seems too much trouble and his customer service is fantastic.
On the busiest day of the year at Rome Airport, all worked very well. I can fully recommend your flight finding and booking service.
Here's a game to play on the plane. You have one last holiday and it's for a month. It won't cost you a thing but you have to go somewhere you've been before. That honeymoon hotel in Sri Lanka might loom large, perhaps the beach resort in Jamaica would be perfect, or the heavenly spot in the Maldives could do the trick.
My wife and I play the game on the way home from Tuscany - and are hard-pressed to think beyond the place we've just left. We stayed at the Castello di Casole hotel, a ravishing hill-top converted castle within striking distance of Siena, San Gimignano and Florence. In other words, culture of the highest order on your doorstep, where going nowhere at all is also a tantalising option.
We're talking Tuscany Classico: lush undulating countryside, a patchwork of greens, ochres and violets broken up by thick hedges and narrow tracks lined with immaculate cypress trees.
Many of the tracks you can see from the castle's terrace - with its fabulous infinity swimming pool and huge terracotta pots laden with olive trees - lead to villas that are part of the hotel's 4,200-acre estate, now owned and run by Belmond.
An American firm acquired it in 2005 and set about a massive restoration.
There are 41 suites (plus a two-storey penthouse) in the main building and dotted about what amounts to a private hamlet, with its own church and crypt built by the Bargagli family in the 19th century. The spa is in the granary, with treatment rooms in the former cellars. At one time, the castle was owned by Italian director Luchino Visconti (Death In Venice). Perhaps he, like us, spent hours staring into the distance - front row seats in the Ritzy Naturale.
It's truly special at night, when the main courtyard becomes a village square, complete with fountain, stone benches and al fresco dining. Children play hide and seek while their parents pile plates with some of the best cooking in the region.
What you forget about Tuscany is that the Etruscans were here long before the Romans. Hence the exquisite hilltop towns that once were fortresses designed to repel outsiders and are now communities keen to welcome visitors armed with euros.
On our second night, we ask the concierge to book us dinner somewhere cheap and cheerful nearby. He chooses Osteria del Borgo in the tiny village of Mensano, which, as it happens, we could see from our room.
Slow-cooked wild boar is the speciality here, but it's the sort of restaurant where you let the waiter (in this case the brother of the chef) decide what you should eat. A triumph.
We visited the dramatic hilltop town of San Gimignano, with its skyline of medieval towers, including the stone Torre Grossa and the 12th century Duomo di San Gimignano with famous frescoes by Ghirlandaio. But be warned, the walled town is one of Tuscany's biggest draws and it can get extremely busy - it's well worth a visit but try to avoid peak times. The priority of those medieval town planners wasn't car parking spaces.
We enjoyed a venture to beautiful Arezzo, where on the first Sunday of the month, the town centre becomes one huge antiques market. We buy a heavy marble font that raises eyebrows as we check in for the flight home at Pisa airport.
We also make the pilgrimage to Siena, where, because it is a few weeks before the annual Palio (the bareback horse race around the plaza), medieval pageantry is brewing nicely, including a hostile-looking marching band that drums its way through the narrow streets carrying heavy flags.
Most of all, we love sleepy Casole d'Elsa, which you can also see from the hotel. It has a butcher and grocer - and manages a perfect balance between visitors and full-time residents.
What strikes us about Tuscany in peak season is how if you avoid the superstar towns, there's space for everyone and, with fierce planning laws governing development, it's remarkably unspoilt.
First published in the Daily Mail - March 2020
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